Tag Archives: Light

The Untrimmable Light of the World

“Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for –
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world –
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant –
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these –
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?”

-Mary Oliver

I Am Light

Words and Song by India Arie

You can listen to her sweet clear voice here:

“I Am Light
I am light, I am light, I am light

I am not the things my family did
I am not the voices in my head
I am not the pieces of the brokenness inside

I am light, I am light, I am light, I am light

I’m not the mistakes that I have made or any of the things that caused me pain
I am not the pieces of the dream I left behind

I am light, I am light, I am light, I am light

I am not the color of my eyes
I am not the skin on the outside
I am not my age, I am not my race, my soul inside is all light

All light, all light, all light, all light
I am light, I am light, I am light, I am light

I am divinity defined
I am the God on the inside
I am a star, a piece of it all
I am light”

That’s How the Light Gets In

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”

-Leonard Cohen

Idaho Storm4

It’s all about the light. As a photographer and lover of all the wonder, I look for light continually.  It is there to be found.  We naturally gravitate to it, we revel in it, we bathe in its warmth,       dance in its radiance, savor its luminance of all the wonders around us.

When darkness comes, light a candle, sit close and peer into the flame-light.   Wait for the sunshine.  We can trust that it will come, through the cracks and around the obstacles.  Until then, “ring the bells that still can ring, and forget your perfect offering!”